Graduating Cosmetology School

An incredibly exciting day today! I graduated cosmetology school. It took me 1500 hours, over two years consecutively, and no time to breath in between clients half the time. While I can't say that I'm shocked so few people actually showed up for me for my ceremony, I am grateful in every way that those who did show up were able to. It's not all the time that I'm able to say so many of my family members gathered to celebrate me specifically... and it felt wonderful. There were speeches, and pizza, and enough cake to stuff 30 people full! My heart is SO INCREDIBLY FULL right now, I could implode.

I think for you all, I'd like to recap a little bit of what the last two years has looked like for me, from beginning to end. I don't know how long this post will end up, I may end up breaking it into two different parts; I fear it may end up getting a little verbose. (Oh well, you're choosing to read this, I'm not forcing you to and you can click away at any given moment, it wouldn't break my heart.

It started in 2024. I had been tired of not being able to help support my family with my health issues and the inability to find a job that worked around my schedule with my children. I had sat down with my husband, Grant, and we discussed the options available. I could continue to push into dead-end jobs, lining myself up for failure and a deep level of regret and disdain every time I had to quit/lost my job— OR— I could take the time out of my life to dedicate it to an education, of my choosing, to further myself in this world and give myself an opportunity to be able to be SOMETHING. It wasn't a hasty choice, we discussed it for a good few months before I took it upon myself to take a tour of Empire Beauty School down the road from my house. While the school didn't seem fantastic, it was dingy, the product shelves seemed empty and the students all seemed a little miserable... I figured it was school, I couldn't and shouldn't expect much more than a bunch of depressed kids trying to keep themselves afloat and awake after working all day and then coming into night classes. Little did I know that a few of those girls in that class would become some of my closest friends, people I know I can rely on in my life.

If it hadn't been for a teacher, who ended up being a HORRIFIC person and teacher actually, I wouldn't have even considered signing up after touring. But his energy, the smiles, the knowing look in his eyes while I got to meet the students and see the environment firsthand, it was intoxicating and it was exactly what I needed to direct me to taking on the student loans. While looking back now I am really grateful I was able to live through this experience, I would never truly suggest anyone else go through it unless they were incredibly sure that they wanted to be a cosmetologist and wanted this for their career.. The educational period alone was more than enough to drag anyone through the mud and back and you need to be prepared to go through and deal with some horrible things. Anywho, when I finally had my first day, it was like lightning. I was willing to chat with anyone around me, I was able to make friends with some girls really quickly when they invited me to sit with them. I remember it was Design Principles, which is learning about natural hair cultivation. Braiding, locs, cornrows, all the stuff that as much as I try I can never get my braids tight enough to call myself good. I was enjoying my time learning about the hot tools and the time I spent gathering information was wonderful. It was maybe my second or third week in the class when a teacher started training with the teacher I started with. New teachers name was Mr. Matt; a sassy ass gay man in his early 50's. A decent head on his shoulders, and when you were able to reach his good side, a wonderful friend and confidant to boot. He studied how the old teacher interacted and learned how to teach us, and before I knew it the old teacher went to teach on the salon floor and Matt took over our classroom.

We were rowdy, we were loud, and we were a group of girls who all knew that we wanted to be there but still felt the need to turn it all into a competition with one another. I refused to play into the game as best as I could; I will not lie about myself and say that I was perfect, I was far from it. I got into an argument with a woman at one point because of how she spoke on other people's children in public, there was always a heightened air around me and another girl who I started with; to this day I still cannot surmise as to why she didn't like me much at all; but that was never my problem and it will continue to not be my problem. She had a friend I called Malibu Barbie who had to drop out when she moved up north (oh nooooo).... We had Malibu Barbie and her Parrot. That is explicitly how I will refer to them from this point on to avoid any confusion. Malibu Barbie and her Parrot were not fans of me, and while Barbie was willing to be a little more vocal about it, Parrot would just stare me down the entire class; her looks going from bored to "I'd kill you if I had the chance" throughout the four and a half hours we were forced to spend together nightly. I hope still that Parrot gets out of life what she deserves, and that she heals from whatever made her hurt like that in the first place; as far as Barbie goes I hope she too gets to succeed in life how she chooses to... So long as they stay far the fuck away from me. While that never really did matter and it matters especially less now than it did; I am not unlike an elephant in how I always remember.

Pre-Salon went on and soon enough I was ready to go onto the floor; and I began to experience some incredibly severe health issues; holding me back from being able to actually go to school more often than maybe once or twice a week when I was scheduled four days every week. It wasn't for lack of trying, there were days where I'd go to school and be completely drained, noted by my classmates and teachers. Uneventfully, months went by. I got a bit better through the time and was able to go to school more regularly, which was a wonderful blessing. It was around this time that I started getting incredibly close with my friends, Emma and Saylor. While they're significantly younger than me, they both are incredible woman and I am proud to call them my friends. They were and are wonderful supports in my life while I go through it; and for that I am grateful. They helped keep me sane while I dealt with school and my health issues, they made sure that when I needed help I could get it at least from them. Something I learned is almost the baseline for any form of education in the cosmetology field... otherwise you're stuck trying to figure things out on your own. The favoritism that teachers have is incredibly blatant and really disgusting thinking back on it; Even if I was a student who was a favorite. (At least to Matt; I know other teachers appreciated my presence but I'm not sure if they truly loved me the way that I know some students are loved.

It's wild now for me to think about how I spent so much time there trying to keep others happy and doing well, to the point where it was noticed and spoken about.

As time went on we figured out the heirarchy that shouldn't have existed but did. Parrot was one of the teachers pets and anyone who was friends with her was friends with the teacher; to the point when she graduated the teacher ended up switching to a different school, only letting us know on the last day that it WAS her last day, about halfway through the night. While I cannot fathom how little respect she had for those of us who weren't "favorites", it's absolutely none of my business and I know that with her relationship she has with Christianity she has to let that all sit on her soul as she goes through life; despite all the reaching out and attempts I made she was always a little stony, despite never being directly so. (You did me no favors, Soto, and I hope and pray that you wake up one day with some deep regrets for how you acted and behaved the last few weeks you were our teacher.) With that being said, I was very close to nearing the end of my educational period. Parrot graduated right before I did, and the last few weeks I was in school without her there were some of the most peaceful hours I had in those halls. I stopped getting slapped with the horrifying clients that no one wanted; And with a new teacher taking place of Soto the hierarchy was quieted for a little while... not that a new one wouldn't take its place, one where I seemingly was floating between everyone. It was a pleasant end to my time at the school; thinking on it.

I was able to experience one final career fair at the school before I graduated, which actually ended me up with the job I'm about to start once I get my boards done and out of the way; Which still is mind blowing to me and incredibly exciting! I got chatting with the regional manager of Jude's Barbershop out here by where I live, for nearly the entire time she was there she and I stayed talking; Joking about our children, the beauty school experience, our children, and what our lives looked like leading up to this point. She told me eventually that she really appreciated my sense of humor and my take on life, and that I would vibe incredibly well with the salon manager at the barbershop across the street from my school. One thing led to another and I would up with a job shadow at the barbershop the following week. *I'll make that into it's own post, found here* The job shadow went well, I walked in and appreciated the ambiance of the salon of the bat, and the laughing and gabbing that I and my new boss got to do while I watched her slam through a few haircuts with the speed that I can only imagine I'll get after years of being in the industry. I was able to tell her about how my full dream is to own a nail salon, but in order to make money as a nail tech you need to wait. And work. And wait some more, building up your client base from the very beginning; Taking at the very least three years, probably longer, to build enough of a book to not have to have other forms of income coming in to help you. I, with a family to help pay and care for, alongside health issues of my own and a son with significant health issues, needed to be able to make money from the start; and working in a commercial salon is a good way to get that going.

You may be asking, Atlas, why didn't you just go work in a nail salon to get in the hours and clients that way?

Because friend, even with doing that, I'm still building up books for two to three years. Even with that I may end up in a chop shop where I may be one of two licenced people actually working. Because with that I may end up picking up and learning HORRIFYING habits that will never leave me. I'd rather do this my own way, and hopefully in time it will begin to make sense to everyone around me. With that being said, if you want really cute nails, there is a website you can find that has some booking information for you; If you're so concerned with it help me build my business from the ground up then! (;